“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts Isaiah 55:8-9
Our family had a dog years ago, a delightful little rescue dog named Maggie. As most pet owners, we had a lot of great “Maggie stories”. Such as her propensity to know when garbage day arrived so that she could run off and scope out the neighborhood trash. One memorable evening, she came home with a pizza crust hanging from her mouth. She looked like the gangster who had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he interrogated some poor victim. Maggie was a joy!
She lived to be 17 years old. I think that was because she was well loved and cared for by us. Mostly, I think, it was because she was a “mixed breed” dog. Yes, she was a mutt. Mutts, you see, tend to live longer than pure breed dogs. Why? Because genetic diversity protects animals from certain illnesses and conditions that more “monoculture” animals may succumb to.
In nature, the more genetic diversity you possess, the better protected you are from inbreeding problems that lower resistance to disease. It also eliminates inbred hereditary problems. For example, the classic “royals diseases” porphyria and hemophilia, were caused by the inbreeding marriage practices that royal families in the 16th, 17th and 18th century used to make political alliances. The so-called “pure royal blood lines” were actually tickets to poor health and early deaths.
So, as we consider God’s creation and his love of diversity, we once again see the paradox of man’s wisdom versus God’s plans. So called pure blood lines are deceptions, and lead to evil practices such as eugenics- a philosophical and political rage of late 19th and early 20th century. Indeed, in the 1930’s the culmination of such thinking was the rise of the racist regime of Adolf Hitler.
God made a diverse creation for us to enjoy. So, let’s celebrate God’s diversity.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your plans, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 